Adjustable ray control.



Patented Aug. 14, 1917.

E. A. MlNETTl & B. B. BRIGGS. ADJUSTABLE RAY CONTROL. APPLICATION FILED FEB. 8, 1911.

A TTORNEYS UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

EMILE A. MINETTI AND BERTRAM B. BRIGGS, OF RUTHERFORD, NEW JERSEY.

ADJUSTABLE RAY CONTROL.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it lmown that we, EMILE A. MINETTI and BERTRAM B. BRIGGS, both citizens of the United States, and residents of Rutherford, in the county of Bergen and State of New Jersey, have invented a new and Improved Adjustable Ray Control, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to controlling devices for the rays of light from a lamp and has for an object the provision of an 1mproved construction for easily directing the rays of light from the headlight of an automobile in order to secure any desired 1llum1- nation and any desired dimming.

In the accompanying drawing Figure 1 is a front view of a device embodying the-invention, certain parts thereof being broken away for better illustrating the structure.

Fig. 2 is a section through F 1g. 1 on line 2-2.

Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the structure shown in Fig. 1.

Referring to the accompanying drawlng by numerals 1 indicates a lamp of ordlnary construction to which the casing 2 1s connected by a hinge 3 whereby the cas1ng 2 acts as the front door of the lamp, a sultable catch 4 being provided for holding the door closed. The rear of the casing ispreferably provided with a round openlng 5 through which the rays of light are projected, while the front of the casing 1s provided with a glass protecting pane 6 held in lace by suitable supporting means 7.

rranged at a convenient point between the front and back of the casing'are rows of pivotal pins 8, there being one row on each side of the casing, each row of p1ns supporting a plurality of brackets 9 while each pair of brackets 9 supports a glass dimming member 10 held in place in any suitable manner, as for instance, by the turned over portions 11 of the brackets. The glass plates or members 10 are colored with any suitable color, as for instance, red, so as to allow an illumination but to eliminate the usual glare of the strong headlight. In addition, when the parts are set substantially as shown in Fi 1 or slightl more closed, little or none 0 the rays wil pass between the plates 10 at the upper part but a large number will pass between the plates at the lower part of the device, but the last men- Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 14, 191 '7. Serial No. 147,288.

tioned rays will strike the ground near the automobile and will not in any way present a g are to a pedestrian meeting the automo- In order to adjust the plates 10 for different conditions, a pair of side plates 12 are provided and the various brackets 9 on both sides of the casing are connected thereto by suitable pivotal pins 13, whereby when the side plates 12 are moved upwardly'or downwardly the brackets will be moved pivotally and the angle at which the dimming plates 10 are arranged will be changed. A cross bar 14 connects the side plates 12 and together with said side plates forms a frame which is urged upwardly by a spring 15. An adjusting screw 16 extends through a threaded member or enlargement 17 secured to the casing 2 and is provided with abutments or enlargements 18 and 19 on opposite sides of the bar 14, part of the screw 16 extending through the bar, as shown in Fig. 1, whereby when the screw is rotated bar 14: and parts connected therewith will be raised or lowered. This will adjust the position of the dimming plates 10 and will lock the plates 10 in any adjusted position, spring 15 acting as tension means for preventing rattling.

As above described, the plates 10 are made from glass or other transparent material and colored with any color desired so that an illumination may be provided, but if desired metal or -other opaque plates could be used which would completely shut out the light from the upper part when turned to substantially the position shown in Fig. 2 while allowing light to be projected downwardly and forwardly for a short distance.

at we claim is:

1. In a device of the character described, a casing, a plurality of pivotally mounted shutters, means for swinging sald shutters on their pivotal points, said means including a cross bar, and a threaded member threaded through said casing and movably connected to said cross bar for adjusting theposition of said shutters and locking the shutters in any desired position.

2. In a device of the character described, a casing, a frame arranged in said casin a row of brackets on each side of said frame, a plate of glass connected with each pair of brackets, a vertical bar arranged adjacent each of said brackets, means for pivotally connecting said brackets to said bar, said bar whereby when the screw is actuated a transverse bar at the bottom connected said bar and parts connected therewith will with the first mentioned bars, and a screw be moved according to the direction of 10 mounted in said casing formed with spaced movement of the screw.

abutments, said screw extending through said transverse bar and arranged so that EMILE A. MINETTI.

there will be an abutment on each side of BERTRAM B. BRIGGS.

Gopies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the sommissioner of Eatents, Washington, D. G. 

